The Week - UK (2021-02-06)

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THEWEEK6February 2021

Obituaries

CicelyTyson,whohasdied

aged96,wasapioneering

blackactresswhoseseven-

decade-longcareerencom-

passedfilm,theatreandtelevision.Refusing

totakeanyrole thatshefeltdemeanedblack

people,evenifthatmeantnotworking,she

wonthreeEmmys,aTony,anhonoraryOscar

andthePresidentialMedalofFreedom,andshe

wascitedasaninspirationbycountlessyounger

actors.OneofthemwasViolaDavis,who

recalledthatgrowingupinpovertyinRhode

Island,intheonly blackfamilyinhertown,

shehadseenTysononTV–“adark-skinned,

thick-lippedwomanwhotrulymirroredme”

–andithadgivenher“permissiontodream”.

Tysonhadalong,on-offrelationshipwiththe

jazzlegendMilesDavis,andwasaleading

figureintheBlackisBeautifulmovement.By

refusingtowearherhairstraightenedforarole

asanAfricanwomantryingtopreserveher

heritageinAmerica,intheearly1960s,she

alsohelpedstartthenaturalhairmovement.Butwhileshewas

regardedasarolemodel, itwasn’tsomethingshe’dsought. “It

pleasesmeto beasymbolandtoberecognised assuch,”shesaid,

“butIhopesomedayto besimplyCicely Tyson,actress.”

Cicely Tysonwasborn in1 92 4,andbroughtup inHarlem.Her

mother,Frederica,wasadomesticworker;herfather,William,

workedasacarpenterandpainter.Her parents separatedwhen

shewasten. Buther mostvividmemorywas ofbeingnine,and

seeinghermotherliningup withotherblack womenoutside a

Manhattandepartmentstore,whilearichwhitewomandecided

whether toemploythemascleaners.Hermother,she recalled in

herautobiography,wasaproud,morallyupright,church-going

woman;shewasshockedto seeher undergoingthisindignity.

“Ineverexpectedmy motherwouldbe standing inlinelikeslaves

wereintheyearsofslavery,”she toldJanice TurnerinThe Times.

After graduatinghighschool,she workedbrieflyfor the American

Red Cross,in thetypingpool.Then, walkingdownFifthAvenue

oneday,amanstoppedher and toldherthat ifshewasn’ta

model, sheshouldbecomeone. Soshestarteddistributingher

photograph.Frommodelling,shemadetheleap

toacting.Inthe1960s,sheappearedopposite

MayaAngelouandJamesEarlJonesinanoff-

BroadwayproductionofJeanGenet’sThe

Blacks.ShewasinthefilmThe HeartisaLonely

Hunterin 1968 ,andin 1972 shewasnominated

foranOscarforherroleasasharecropperin

1930 sLouisiana,inSounder.Shedidn’twin,

butitmadeherastar.

Althoughshehadmixedwithpoliticalactivists

inthe1960s,shehadnotbeenone.That

changedwhen,atapressconferenceforSounder,

awhitejournalisttoldthecastthathe’dbeen

amazedtohearthesharecropper’ssoncallhis

fatherDaddy,“becausethat’swhatmysoncalls

me”.Inherautobiography,shewrote:“Idon’t

knowwhatstunnedmemore,thattheman

believedwhathedidorthathehadtheaudacity

tosayitaloud.”WhiteAmericans,sherealised,

didnotseetheirblackfellowcitizensas

entirelyhuman.Tysonsoughttochangethis,

byplayingonlypositive,fullyroundedcharacters.Shetookthe

leadroleinTheAutobiography ofMissJane Pittman,ahitTV

drama from1974aboutthelifeof a100-year-oldwomanwho

wasbornintoslavery; and playedthe mother ofKuntaKintein

the seminalTVminiseriesRoots,in 1977.Butshedeclin edto

appearin Blaxploitation movies.Withtheirplotsaboutdrugs,

guns,pimps andprostitutes,itwas“committinganarrative

assassinationofourselves”,she said.Later, she playedSipsey in

the filmFriedGreen Tomatoes(1991);she hadarecurringrole

as acongres swomanin Netflix’sHouse ofCards;and from2 015 ,

shewasViolaDavis’smotherin theTVshowHowtoGetAway

withMurder.In 2018,shewonanhonoraryOscar–the first

black womanto doso.

She firstmetMiles Davisin1 96 5. Theybecameacouple(she is

pictured onthecoverofhis 1967 albumSorcerer);buthewas

seriallyunfaithful,andshelefthim.Then,in the 1 970s,when

they were bothin their 5 0s,andhisdrughabithadalmost killed

him,she came tohisrescue. Hecreditedherwithsavinghis life,

and beggedhertomarryhim. She agreed, in1 98 1; buthewent

backto hisoldways, and in 1988 ,shefiledfordivorce.

CicelyTyson

1924-2021

Helen Jackson, whohasdied

aged 1 01, wasknownas

“Miss Jackson” in the small

town in Missouri where she

hadspent mostofher adultlife. Astern and

slightly intimidatingwoman,astalwartof her

Methodistchurch andamemberof various

local committees,she wasassumedto be a

spinster,saidTheTimes; but in 2017, while

discussingherfuneralarrangementswith her

pastorandfriend, Nicholas Inman, shecon-

fessed tohimthat shehadoncebeenmarried

–toaman whohadfoughtin theCivil War.

It madenosense: that bloody warhadended

152 yearsearlier.Buther claim–tobethe last

Civil War widow–turned out to betrue.

ShewasborninMissouri in 1919,oneoften children ofapoor

farmer, andbrought up during the Great Depression.Her father

hadawidowedfriend,anold man namedJamesBolin, whohad

foughtforthe Unionwith the14th Missouri Cavalry. When

Helen wasinher teens, herfatherasked herto helpBolinwith

his chores eachday, onherwayhomefromschool. One day, in

return for herkindness,Bolin suggestedto her that

theygetmarried:thatway,he said,she couldclaim

hiswarpension afterhisdeath.“Hesaidthatit

mightbe my onlywayofleaving the farm,” she

recalled.They tied theknotin1936, when she

was 17andhewas 93.But,asagreed,it waskept

secret:she stayedwith herparents on the farm,and

there wasnointimacybetween them. Threeyears

later, he died,but shenever didclaim thepension:

one of hisdaughters hadwarned herthatifitcame

outthatshe’d married an oldmanfor hismoney,

it woulddestroyher reputation,andshewanted to

protect his too. So shekept hersecret, for81years

–thoughitwas “eatingher alive”, Inman said.

He investigated her story–and herstatus, as a

CivilWar widow, wasofficially recognised.

Havingspent yearshiding herhistory, sheembracedit,said The

Guardian–andin the process,foundanew peace.WhenBolin’s

descendantsheardaboutherplace in hislife, they came to visit

herat hernursinghome,andgave heraframed photoofhim.

Shecriedwhenshesawit,Inman recalled.“Shekept touching

the frame and said,‘This is the onlymanwho ever loved me’.”

Helen

Jackson

1919-2020

Actress and model whose career spanned seven decades

Tyson:wouldn’tplaynegativeroles

Jackson: keptasecret for 81 years

The last surviving widow of the American Civil War